Aesthetic surgery · consultation first

Liposuction

Performed by a plastic surgeon certified by the Royal College, at North Shore Plastic Surgery down the hall. It removes fat from a defined place. It is not a weight-loss operation and it does not tighten skin — the consultation exists to work out which of those you are actually asking about.

Surgery: 1–3 h
Off work: 1–2 wk
Final contour: 3–6 mo

What the decision involves

Liposuction takes out fat sitting in a defined pocket that has not moved with diet or training. What it cannot do is tighten the skin over that pocket — take enough fat from under skin that has lost its recoil and the result is a looser contour, not a better one. So most of the consultation is about skin quality, fat distribution and what the area will look like afterwards. Sometimes it ends with a surgeon telling you that the operation you asked for is not the one that would help, and that is a legitimate outcome of an hour well spent.

Royal College certified

Your surgeon is FRCSC and operates at Lions Gate Hospital.

Examined before quoted

Areas, technique and volume are decided on your body, standing up, not from a photograph.

One team afterwards

Skin and scar care after the operation happen in the same building.

Usually a reasonable candidate

A weight you can hold steady, and a shape that still bothers you at that weight
Fat in a defined area that has not moved with diet or training
Skin with reasonable recoil over that area
In good general health and a non-smoker, or willing to stop well before surgery
Able to wear a compression garment for weeks and to take one to two weeks away from work

We would ask you to wait

Weight still moving in either direction — the result would move with it
Looking for weight loss, or for a treatment of obesity; this is neither
Significant loose skin, where an excision operation is the honest answer
A bleeding disorder, or a heart or lung condition your physician has not cleared
Someone else wants this more than you do

Before surgery

Consultation, examination and standing photographs
Bloodwork and medical clearance where indicated
Stop smoking and certain medications — you will get a written list
Buy the compression garment before the day
Arrange someone to drive you home and stay the first night

The day

01AdmissionMarking while you are standing and awake, then a final confirmation of the plan with your surgeon.
02SurgeryOne to three hours, under general anaesthetic or sedation depending on the areas.
03RecoveryYou wake in recovery. Most people go home the same day.

Recovery

Soreness like a hard training session, and leaking from the small access points for a day or two
Compression garment more or less continuously for four to six weeks
Walking from day one; no real exercise until you are cleared
Swelling hides the result for months — the contour is a three to six month judgement

Risks worth understanding before you decide

This is surgery, usually under general anaesthetic. These are not remote possibilities to be skimmed past; your surgeon will go through each one against your body rather than in the abstract.

Bleeding, infection, and the risks that come with general anaesthesia
Contour irregularity — dents, ridges or a wave in the skin that was not there before
Asymmetry between two sides that were never identical to begin with
Numbness over the treated area, usually temporary and occasionally not
Fluid collection under the skin that needs draining
Loose skin becoming more obvious once the fat beneath it is gone
Blood clots in a leg or a lung — uncommon, and the reason you are walking on day one
Burns or skin damage where an energy-assisted technique is used
A revision operation, which is not rare in body contouring
Small scars at the access points, which vary between people and cannot be predicted exactly
Fat entering the bloodstream, or injury to a structure beneath the treated area — rare, serious, and discussed with you properly rather than listed and passed over

Questions we get

Can I book the surgery online?

No. You can book a consultation. There is no way to schedule an operation from this website — the date is set with the surgeon who will perform it, after an examination and a written quote.

Is it covered by MSP?

No. This is cosmetic and self-pay. If what you need turns out to be insured surgery, that is North Shore Plastic Surgery's own practice and you would go through the usual referral route with them.

Will the fat come back?

The cells removed are gone. The ones left behind still respond to weight gain, so the shape holds as long as your weight does.

Is this a treatment for weight?

No. It changes the shape of a defined area. If weight is the real question, say so at the consultation — that is a different conversation, and sometimes a different clinician.

How many areas can be done at once?

There is a limit, and it is about safety rather than budget. Your surgeon will tell you what can be done in one sitting and what should wait for another.

What if the surgeon says no?

Then you get the reason in plain words and, where there is one, a better option. A consultation that ends in "not this" is not a wasted appointment.